A new contractor was given the job of tornado debris removal by the City of Lafayette, after the first bidder – NATCO – asked to be excused. The contract was awarded on March 20, after new bids by previous bidders and additional contractors were opened. Ward Construction, of Macon County, got the job with the low bid of $87,875. The contract will be signed and preliminary work will begin on Monday, March 24, said Mayor Bill Wells.

Debris pick-up from city road right-of-ways should start on Tuesday or Wednesday, March 25 and 26, according to Wells. Work will include loading and disposal of FEMA eligible debris along roads in the tornado affected areas of the city. Three passes will be made along each route.

City residents are encouraged to put their wind blown debris along curbs during the next four weeks. Eligible debris includes materials that blew down during the February 5th storms or have blown onto the property, trees that were damaged by the tornado, and tree trimmings from clean-up.

Trees and stumps from unimproved areas are not considered eligible for pick-up or for FEMA reimbursement. NATCO, the original bidder accepted, was excused from the contract on March 11, after surveying the amounts of debris to be picked up. When NATCO contractors came to look at the piles, they estimated that half of the debris that they had bid on had already been hauled off. By the time they mobilized their equipment and brought it to Lafayette, they told Wells, they would lose money on the job.